Vizio's P-series of HDTVs puts 4K video and connected features within closer reach of the average consumer budget, but it suffers some issues with light bloom.

Ultra-high-definition (UHD, or 4K) is finally coming into reach for consumers after several years of the technology being too new and expensive for most people to afford. Vizio's P-series of HDTVs are a good example, offering full 3,840-by-2,160 resolution at a reasonable price. We tested the 65-inch P652ui-B2 ($2,199.99), and despite some issues with light bloom and upconversion, it produces a good picture along with a generous selection of connected features. It's a solid choice, but can't match the performance of our Editors' Choice, the Samsung UN65HU8550FXZA, which also happens to be $1,000 more expensive.

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DesignThe P652ui-B2 looks tastefully unassuming, with a plain, flat black half-inch bezel framing the display, distinguished only by a small protrusion on the lower-right corner bearing the Vizio logo. The lower-left corner holds a hidden indicator light that generally only turns on when the HDTV is starting up or shutting down. The sides of the HDTV are wrapped in a 1.25-inch-thick flat gunmetal-colored plastic frame that breaks up the blackness of the display without looking shiny or attracting attention away from the screen itself. The entire HDTV sits on a rectangular base that holds the 65-inch screen steady, though you can also mount it on a wall, without the stand.

All ports and the single, minimal onboard control for the P652ui sit around the left side of the screen. A tiny square button turns the HDTV on and off with a long press, and cycles through inputs with a quick tap. A USB 3.0 port, two HDMI ports (including one HDMI 2.0 port for 4K 60fps content), and a combination component/composite video input sit facing left, on the back of the screen. Three additional HDMI ports, along with optical and stereo analog audio outputs, a cable/antenna connection, and an Ethernet port, face down. Five HDMI ports is very generous for any HDTV, but it's unfortunate that only one is capable of 4K video at 60 frames per second; the other four can handle 4K video, but only at 30fps.

Remote and FeaturesThe remote is double-sided and very functional. One side holds conventional HDTV controls, like a navigation pad, playback buttons, a number pad, and quick-access keys for Amazon Instant Video, Netflix, and iHeartRadio. This side is not backlit, which is a small shame, though the square-shaped navigation pad is distinctive enough against the other rubber buttons to find easily with your thumb. The other side of the remote holds a QWERTY keyboard, which can be used to enter text in the HDTV's menu system or in different apps.

The P652ui offers a solid selection of apps through the Vizio Internet Apps Plus interface, including most commonly used streaming media services. Netflix and Amazon Instant Video have their own dedicated buttons on the remote, and both services can stream 4K video straight to the screen. The P652ui also supports streaming video (not 4K) from your smartphone or tablet through Miracast. There is no 3D video support.

PerformanceWe test HDTVs using a Klein K-10A colorimeter, a DVDO AVLab test pattern generator, and SpectraCal's CalMAN 5 software. After basic dark room calibration, the P652ui showed a remarkably high peak brightness of 435.76 cd/m2 and a solid black level of 0.04 cd/m2 in Calibrated mode for an excellent 10,894:1 contrast ratio. The HDTV uses 64 LED backlight zones that can individually brighten and dim to fit the picture, which helps produce this number. When testing, I noticed some light bloom between zones that showed something (like white text on a black background) and zones that showed nothing (completely black), but this was only in cases of extreme contrasts with large swaths of complete blackness on the screen. The individual backlight zone dimming feature can be disabled. The Samsung UN65HU8550FXZA displays only a third of the contrast ratio, and its black levels are half as dark, but its lack of light bloom makes up for the poorer numbers. The JVC DM65USR is even less expensive than the Vizio and displays a very strong 6,927:1 contrast ratio, but its reliance on Roku technology that currently doesn't support 4K means you'll be getting a UHD television with no way to access the Netflix or Amazon content that can take advantage of it.

The chart above shows ideal color measurements as boxes and the P652ui's color levels as dots. Colors were fairly accurate, with little skewing warm or cool. However, green was slightly undersaturated compared with red and blue.

The P652ui's bright panel and excellent contrast ratio results in a very striking picture, but it's prone to some irritating issues in very dark scenes. The alley fights in The Amazing Spider-Man popped in testing, with the darks appearing appropriately inky and lit subjects standing out prominently. However, the light bloom I noticed when calibrating the screen also appeared in these scenes, especially when brightly lit objects panned quickly across the frame. You'll have to decide whether you can deal with the bloom, or if you'd rather take the hit to overall shadow detail and contrast by disabling the individual LED backlight zone dimming.

4K ViewingThe Amazing Spider-Man is a Blu-ray disc that Sony Pictures claims is "Mastered in 4K" from the digital footage, and while the film itself is 1080p, the P652ui upscales it to 4K admirably. It doesn't create details out of nothing, but fine objects and sharp edges look crisp and clear, with no noticeable upconversion artifacts.

The Big Lebowski Blu-ray, on the other hand, isn't quite as 4K-friendly. The grainier film footage showed fuzzy upconversion artifacts and blotchiness; the proportion of either depends on the Reduce Block Noise setting, but you'll have to pick one or the other. I couldn't get past the blotchiness of the higher levels of that setting, and while the digital artifacts were slightly irritating, the general picture still looked very good thanks to bright, accurate colors. The skin tones in the awkwardly lit bowling alley appeared accurate and not washed out or skewed.

Native 4K content looks excellent on the set. I watched a 4K version of the trailer for Exodus: Gods and Kings, and details on the metallic costume elements and the blood-red water were extremely crisp and clear. Alpha House on Amazon Instant Video also looked sharp in 4K, with fine details clearly visible in Bill Murray's pores and prison do-rag.

In Calibrated mode, the P652ui shows a terrible 111ms input lag, taking over a tenth of a second between receiving a signal and updating the picture. However, the Game mode cuts this in half to a much more manageable 46ms. That's very good performance for such a large screen.

The P652ui can be a bit of a power hog using our calibrated settings in the Calibrated mode. Under normal use, it consumed 287 watts of power. However, a Calibrated Dark mode cuts this number nearly in half to just 150 watts, though, like its name implies, it does darken the screen significantly. It remains very watchable in a dark room, but it's not particularly comfortable in a bright room.

ConclusionsVizio's P-series of 4K televisions puts loads of features and UHD video in reach of consumers. At $2,200 for 65 inches, the P652ui-B2 isn't dirt cheap, but it's reasonable if you're looking to finally take the plunge into 4K. Its colors and contrast are strong, but it suffers from some light bloom, and its picture quality falters a bit when handling older, film-based footage. The Samsung UN65HU8550FXZA doesn't get quite as bright or dark, but it lacks the light bloom of the Vizio, supports 3D, and includes a motion-sensing remote that's much better suited for navigating on-screen menus. If you don't need to jump to 4K just yet, the Sony KDL-70W850B is a larger, 1080p screen with even better contrast available for around the same price.

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About the Author

Will Greenwald has been covering consumer technology for a decade, and has served on the editorial staffs of CNET.com, Sound & Vision, and Maximum PC. His work and analysis has been seen in GamePro, Tested.com, Geek.com, and several other publications. He currently covers consumer electronics in the PC Labs as the in-house home entertainment expert... See Full Bio

Vizio P652ui-B2

Vizio P652ui-B2

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